Construction of Southland’s new museum will plough on amid budget issues, but just how much extra it will cost remains a question for the future.

On Tuesday evening, councillors discussed a path forward for Te Unua Museum of Southland on the back of information it would not be possible to deliver the project on budget.

A report prepared for the meeting showed as much as $19.5 million extra could be needed.

After almost two and a half hours of discussion, councillors settled on progressing a public consultation with suggestions for how costs could be pared back.

Three main areas were highlighted: reducing the "experience", forgoing a Green Star sustainability certification, and delaying the creation of a carpark.

Both the certification and carpark were costed at about $3 million combined.

Councillors were firm that although the museum was experiencing budget issues, works should not be paused — which was one of the options put forward by staff in the council report.

Multiple elected members pointed to the clear mandate given by elected members during previous consultation for the council to not hold back in creating something new.

Councillor Trish Boyle said the community had asked for a museum which would continue to be modern, while mana whenua representative Pania Coote warned against cutting corners to save money.

“When we remove the wow factors, we end up with a tin shed”.

Councillor Alex Crackett said the museum had been the bane of the council’s existence for eight years, and hitting pause was not an option.

“To stop it now, when we’ve got this far down the process, would be such a laughing stock and a legacy that I don’t think any of us want to leave.

“It would be horrific.”

Mana whenua representative Evelyn Cook said the council was essentially asking the community how well it wanted its stories to be told.

She encouraged the council to give the community the kind of experience people visited Te Papa for.

Councillor Ian Pottinger provided an alternate perspective to many, saying the council owed the public an explanation for how the budget had gotten out of hand since August 2022 when it appeared things were on track.

“This museum is not the end of what we spend our money on, we’ve got other stuff,” he said.

Ultimately, four options were decided on for an upcoming public consultation.

The first was to stick with the original plan, which could see the build exceed its budget by as much as $19.5 million.

The second was to remove the Green Star accreditation, which could save the council around $1 million.

The third — and recommended option from council — was to remove both the accreditation and delay the carpark.

The fourth option was to adopt the third option as well as get feedback on reducing the “experience” to save costs.

Discussion on Tuesday also covered external funding for the project.

The expected $19.5 million budget blowout for running with the status quo included $6.6 million of external funding that the council was still trying to obtain, but had agreed to underwrite.

Council group manager community spaces and places Rex Capil said his organisation was presenting to ILT (Invercargill Licensing Trust) and others for funding.

ILT had made it clear they would be keen to partner, but needed to be involved in conversations early on, he said.

Council programme director Lee Butcher spoke about aspirations for the project, saying it could be a “museum of the future”.

“We believe this is a once in a lifetime opportunity to reimagine museums in New Zealand, and will put Invercargill on the map.”

Council passed a motion to allow the chief executive to sign a contract with Naylor Love to begin working on the building, with Mayor Nobby Clark saying most costs would be fixed.

Risk factors will be discussed at the next full council meeting in August.

Staff had already confirmed after “stress testing” all aspects of the project this year that it would be impossible to keep the project on budget.

Te Unua Museum of Southland will be built on the site of the previous museum, which has almost been completely demolished.

The old facility had been closed since April 2018 due to safety reasons.

LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air